Mercer University
Florida A&M
Bears Gear Up For Double Midweek Slate
4/7/2025 2:59:00 PM | Baseball
| Mercer at Florida A&M, Mercer vs. Georgia Southern | Tuesday, April 8 - Wednesday, April 9 | 4 PM, 6 PM ET | ||
| Site | Location | Moore-Kittles Field | Tallahassee, Fla. OrthoGeorgia Park | Macon, Ga. |
|
| Links | Mercer at Florida A&M | Tuesday, 4 p.m. ET: Live Stats | TV: N/A Expected Pitching Match-Up: MER RHP Lawson Cole (1-1, 3.68 ERA) vs. FAMU TBA Mercer vs. Georgia Southern | Wednesday, 6 p.m. ET: Live Stats | TV: N/A Expected Pitching Match-Up: MER TBA vs. GSU TBA |
|
| Follow the Bears |
|
|
Notables
> The Bears enter a five-game week after taking a crucial SoCon over VMI last weekend. The Mercer offense scored 42 runs in the three-game series against the Keydets, their highest total in a weekend since 2023
> Shortstop Bradley Frye earned his second SoCon Player of the Week honor of the season on Monday after hitting .500 with two home runs, 10 RBI and seven runs scored in four games last week. Frye's home run in game three against VMI was his 11th of the season, marking a new career-high. On the year, Frye ranks sixth in the country with 58 hits and second in the SoCon with a .400 batting average
> Frye was far from the only Bear to have a big weekend at the plate. Titan Kamaka collected eight hits in 15 at-bats against the Keydets while driving in seven runs and scoring six. Brant Baughcum also terrorized VMI pitching, tallying 10 hits, including two home runs, with seven RBI
> Ty Dalley continues his march towards the Mercer career home run record, slugging two home runs against VMI on Friday to bring his career total to 52. Dalley needs four more long balls to tie Tim Smith's career record of 56, set in 1983
> Lawson Cole is set to make his first career start on Tuesday at Florida A&M. Cole has been excellent out of the bullpen this season, holding a 3.68 ERA across eight appearances. The right-hander has allowed just two walks in 14.2 innings of work while limiting opponents to a .220 batting average, good for a WHIP of 0.89
Tuesday marks the 138th all-time meeting between the Bears and Rattlers and the third meeting between the two this season. Mercer holds the all-time advantage, 105-32-1, and took two of the three contests earlier in the campaign. Florida A&M brings a 17-13 record into the week and sits atop the SWAC standings with a 11-1 mark in conference play.
Broedy Poppel leads the Rattlers in most offensive categories, including batting average (.382), OPS (1.203), home runs (7), slugging percentage (.708) and on base percentage (.495). As a team, Florida A&M holds a .287 batting average and a 6.57 ERA.
Scouting Georgia Southern
The Bears and Eagles renew their in-state rivalry on Wednesday with the 155th all-time meeting between the two sides. Wednesday's game marks the first of two contests this season, as the Bears will travel to Statesboro next Tuesday for another midweek match-up. The Eagles bring a 18-13 record into the week, including a 6-6 record in Sun Belt play, and will host Jacksonville on Tuesday before making the trip to Macon on Wednesday.
Sean Smith has powered the Eagles at the plate this season, leading the team in batting average (.402), OPS (1.239), home runs (9), RBI (31) slugging percentage (.732) and on base percentage (.507). Georgia Southern holds a .281 batting average and 6.05 ERA as a team.
